After I had already established what was going to be in my garden, I came upon another video by the Square Foot Gardening people. It was a video that described exactly how a potato plant grows, and a very easy way to grow them without taking up a lot of space.
Unlike roots or root vegetables (like carrots), potatoes grow vertically. That's because potatoes are not a root, meaning they are not a way for the plant to extend itself and absorb nutrients from the soil. Instead, the part of the potato plant that we eat is a tuber- a storage device for water and nutrients the plant uses to survive during the winter or extremely hot summer. Beginning with a single eye from a seed potato at the bottom, a sturdy stalk grows upward. Along the stalk, from the bottom up, the plant begins forming these little caches of starch and water. The more time it has, the larger the plant makes them.
As the plant grows, the historical farmer would pile dirt up around the base of it. The plant would sense that it has more room than before, and it would start growing more tubers. As the months wear on, the plant thinks it is putting up enough food for itself to survive the coming cold months. Little does it realize that our plan is to wait until it has accumulated enough energy, then we will rip it up and steal its goodies! Muahahaha!!! <ahem> Sorry.
As a result of this growth pattern, one is able to grow potatoes not in a huge field, but in a vertical tube. You can use a plain old 5 gallon bucket, though SFG prefers using square buckets to squeeze in an extra plant. A popular alternative being marketed is the Gro-Sack, which is basically a reinforced, food-safe bag that stores smaller, does the same job, and costs more than a bucket. You can guess which one I'm using.
The method for growing potatoes vertically seems to be pretty straightforward. Put about 4 inches of dirt in the bottom, add seed potatoes, cover, water, and wait. When the plants grow and the new potatoes begin to peek through the soil at the base, just add more soil. The plant will continue to grow until you're ready to harvest. When the time comes, just dump the container out onto a tarp, collect the potatoes, and start over.
The method for growing potatoes vertically seems to be pretty straightforward. Put about 4 inches of dirt in the bottom, add seed potatoes, cover, water, and wait. When the plants grow and the new potatoes begin to peek through the soil at the base, just add more soil. The plant will continue to grow until you're ready to harvest. When the time comes, just dump the container out onto a tarp, collect the potatoes, and start over.
We start with a seed potato. Seed potatoes (or garlic, or onions, or anything else called a seed vegetable) are certified to be disease free. Because this kind of propagation is basically asexual, diseases from the previous year can be carried over very easily. Diseases in the new environment can still develop, but at least you know that you're starting with as good of a potato as you can. When you buy seed potatoes, they come in a bag just like regular store potatoes. You want to sift through them and cull any that are too small, damaged (remove any that have holes in them), or discolored (green potatoes can poison you. See below). When you have some good potatoes selected, you want to divide them up. You can plant the smallest of your good batch right into the soil. Since we're planting in a bucket with limited space, I cut the larger ones up. I made sure that at least two eyes were intact on each cut piece, then I let them sit in the sun outside for a couple hours. This lets them harden a bit, evaporate some of the water inside, and form a tough "skin" over the newly exposed cut areas. Now to prepare the buckets.
First, drill a bunch of good-sized holes in the bottom of the buckets. Without decent drainage, the water will pool in the bottom, allowing fungus to grow. The plant will also drown in the standing water. I actually needed to drill more holes than this. Next time. | Second, I cut a piece of water-permeable landscaper cloth the same circumference as the bottom of the bucket. This is an added measure to keep the soil from escaping. |
Place the cloth circle in the bottom, then place a few rocks. This also allows for water storage and to keep soil from escaping. | As said before, put in 4" of soil, then place my seed potatoes. I put three potatoes in each bucket, but if I had used a square bucket, I could've placed four. You can fit four potato plants in each square foot of soil. I covered them with soil, watered well, and set them outside in the direct sunlight. |
Minecraft actually got a lot correct when it comes to planting potatoes as crops. While potatoes technically do create seeds from their flowers, those seeds are not how the plant propagates. Instead, potatoes reproduce by planting a part of the previous plant. This is known as vegetative reproduction, and this is considered a cloning method. So, by planting one potato, we get back multiple potatoes.
Also, Minecraft randomly generates "poisonous potatoes." These are the greenish potatoes that will cause a loss of health when eaten, which is a real thing. Potatoes contain the glycoalkaloid "solanine," which give potatoes their distinctive, semi-bitter taste. In low levels, it is relatively harmless, but in high levels, solanine becomes a potent toxin. It is poorly absorbed by the intestines, and creates symptoms of headache, nausea, diarrhea, coma, and even death. The accelerated levels of solanine in potatoes occur when it is stored in a place exposed to light, or when long-term damage has occurred. You can recognize the increased solanine levels immediately by the green tinge evident on the potato. Bottom line: Green potatoes ARE poison, and should not be eaten.
Also, Minecraft randomly generates "poisonous potatoes." These are the greenish potatoes that will cause a loss of health when eaten, which is a real thing. Potatoes contain the glycoalkaloid "solanine," which give potatoes their distinctive, semi-bitter taste. In low levels, it is relatively harmless, but in high levels, solanine becomes a potent toxin. It is poorly absorbed by the intestines, and creates symptoms of headache, nausea, diarrhea, coma, and even death. The accelerated levels of solanine in potatoes occur when it is stored in a place exposed to light, or when long-term damage has occurred. You can recognize the increased solanine levels immediately by the green tinge evident on the potato. Bottom line: Green potatoes ARE poison, and should not be eaten.